Large Noncollinearity and Spin Reorientation in the Novel Mn2RhSn Heusler Magnet

Noncollinear magnets provide essential ingredients for the next generation memory technology. It is a new prospect for the Heusler materials, already well known due to the diverse range of other fundamental characteristics. Here, we present a combined experimental and theoretical study of novel noncollinear tetragonal Mn2RhSn Heusler material exhibiting unusually strong canting of its magnetic sublattices. It undergoes a spin-reorientation transition, induced by a temperature change and suppressed by an external magnetic field. Because of the presence of Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya exchange and magnetic anisotropy, Mn2RhSn is suggested to be a promising candidate for realizing the Skyrmion state in the Heusler family

The research and development of frequency-controlled electric drive

Рассмотрен подход к реализации автономного генератора на базе асинхронного двигателя с фазным ротором с подключением цепи статора к нагрузке и питанием роторных обмоток от регулируемого источника переменного тока, а также определены границы устойчивой генерации электроэнергии.The approach to implement a stand-alone generator based on an induction motor with a wound rotor connected to the stator circuit to the load and the power rotor windings from a regulated source of alternating current, and also defined the boundaries of sustainable electricity generation

Estimating Australian Population Utilities for Inherited Retinal Disease Using Time Trade-Off.

PURPOSE: Inherited retinal disease (IRD) causes progressive loss of visual function, degenerating towards complete blindness. Economic evaluation of gene therapies for rare forms of genetic IRDs have had to rely on health-related quality of life (HR-QoL) estimates from other diseases because there is limited data available for such a rare condition. This study aimed to estimate Australian societal-based utility values for IRD health states that can be used in cost-utility analyses (CUA) using a time trade-off (TTO) protocol adapted from a UK study. METHODS: The EuroQol Valuation Technology (EQVT) protocol composite TTO (cTTO) framework was followed, which includes worse-than-death (WTD) states and quality control (QC) measures. Preferences were collected from a general population sample of 110 Australian adult participants. Five health state vignettes from the UK study which had been validated with patients and clinicians were presented randomly to participants during videoconferencing (VC) interviews with one of four interviewers. Technical and protocol feasibility were assessed in a pilot of 10 interviews. QC measures were used to monitor interviewers' performance during the study. RESULTS: One participant withdrew consent. The final analysis was conducted on 109 respondents (including 4 non-traders). The average time to complete the interview was 44.2 minutes (SD 8.7). Participants reported mean visual analogue scale (VAS) scores between 63.15 for 'moderate impairment' and 17.98 for 'hand motion' to 'no light perception'. Mean health state utilities (HSU) varied between 0.76 (SD 0.26) in 'moderate impairment', and 0.20 (SD 0.58) in 'hand motion' to 'no light perception'. Of all HSU evaluations, 14% were considered WTD which most commonly occurred in the most severe visually impaired health state. CONCLUSION: This study provides valuable information on HSUs across a range of IRD health states from the Australian general population perspective. The utilities obtained in this study can be used as inputs into CUA of IRD therapies

Tandem fusion of hepatitis B core antigen allows assembly of virus-like particles in bacteria and plants with enhanced capacity to accommodate foreign proteins

The core protein of the hepatitis B virus, HBcAg, assembles into highly immunogenic viruslike particles (HBc VLPs) when expressed in a variety of heterologous systems. Specifically, the major insertion region (MIR) on the HBcAg protein allows the insertion of foreign sequences, which are then exposed on the tips of surface spike structures on the outside of the assembled particle. Here, we present a novel strategy which aids the display of whole proteins on the surface of HBc particles. This strategy, named tandem core, is based on the production of the HBcAg dimer as a single polypeptide chain by tandem fusion of two HBcAg open reading frames. This allows the insertion of large heterologous sequences in only one of the two MIRs in each spike, without compromising VLP formation. We present the use of tandem core technology in both plant and bacterial expression systems. The results show that tandem core particles can be produced with unmodified MIRs, or with one MIR in each tandem dimer modified to contain the entire sequence of GFP or of a camelid nanobody. Both inserted proteins are correctly folded and the nanobody fused to the surface of the tandem core particle (which we name tandibody) retains the ability to bind to its cognate antigen. This technology paves the way for the display of natively folded proteins on the surface of HBc particles either through direct fusion or through non-covalent attachment via a nanobody

Importin α5 regulates anxiety through MeCP2 and sphingosine kinase 1

Importins mediate transport from synapse to soma and from cytoplasm to nucleus, suggesting that perturbation of importin-dependent pathways should have significant neuronal consequences. A behavioral screen on five importin α knockout lines revealed that reduced expression of importin α5 (KPNA1) in hippocampal neurons specifically decreases anxiety in mice. Re-expression of importin α5 in ventral hippocampus of knockout animals increased anxiety behaviors to wild-type levels. Hippocampal neurons lacking importin α5 reveal changes in presynaptic plasticity and modified expression of MeCP2-regulated genes, including sphingosine kinase 1 (Sphk1). Knockout of importin α5, but not importin α3 or α4, reduces MeCP2 nuclear localization in hippocampal neurons. A Sphk1 blocker reverses anxiolysis in the importin α5 knockout mouse, while pharmacological activation of sphingosine signaling has robust anxiolytic effects in wild-type animals. Thus, importin α5 influences sphingosine-sensitive anxiety pathways by regulating MeCP2 nuclear import in hippocampal neurons

The Specificity of RNA Packaging in Isometric RNA Plant Viruses is Principally Determined by Replication

A potato virus X (PVX)-based transient expression system (pEff) that produces replicating RNA has been used to examine the specificity of RNA packaging in the isometric viruses, turnip crinkle virus (TCV) and satellite tobacco necrosis virus-1 (STNV-1). Expression of the coat proteins from the subgenomic RNA derived from the replicating PVX genome results in the efficient production of virus-like particles (VLPs), indistinguishable in structure from native virus particles, and encapsidation of both the subgenomic RNA and truncated versions of the replicating genomic RNA. Non-specific encapsidation of host RNA (which is not replicating) could not be detected in this system, implying that replication is the major determinant of packaging in isometric as well as filamentous positive-strand RNA plant viruses. We further utilised the system to investigate the role of putative packaging signals previously identified within the coat protein open reading frames of both TCV and STNV-1. The results show that eliminating the hairpin structures previously identified as packaging signals has no detectable effect on the specificity of RNA packaging. Replacement of the 213 nucleotide sequence within the TCV coat protein coding region, believed to be important for genomic packaging, with an equivalent sequence codon-optimised for Plasmodium falciparum resulted in less efficient capsid formation and RNA packaging, but did not alter packaging specificity; addition of copies of the wild-type sequence did not complement the defects. We propose that replication is the major determinant of genome packaging specificity in plant RNA viruses, while packaging signals may play a role in packaging efficiency

Affimer reagents as tools in diagnosing plant virus diseases

Plant viruses can cause devastating losses to agriculture and are therefore a major threat to food security. The rapid identification of virally-infected crops allowing containment is essential to limit such threats, but plant viral diseases can be extremely challenging to diagnose. An ideal method for plant virus diagnosis would be a device which can be implemented easily in the field. Such devices require a binding reagent that is specific for the virus of interest. We chose to investigate the use of Affimer reagents, artificial binding proteins and a model plant virus Cowpea Mosaic virus (CPMV) empty virus like particles (eVLPs). CPMV-eVLP mimic the morphology of wild-type (WT) CPMV but lack any infectious genomic material and so do not have biocontainment issues. We have produced and purified an Affimer reagent selected for its ability to bind to CPMV-eVLP and have shown that the selected Affimer also specifically binds to WT CPMV. We have produced a 3.4 Å structure of WT CPMV bound to the Affimer using cryo-electron microscopy. Finally, we have shown that this Affimer is capable of reliably detecting the virus in crude extracts of CPMV-infected leaves and can therefore form the basis for the future development of diagnostic tests

The impact of terahertz radiation on an extremophilic archaean Halorubrum saccharovorum proteome

Nonthermal effects of terahertz radiation on living objects are currently intensely studied, as more sources of this radiation type and devices employing it are being constructed. Terahertz radiation is increasingly used in security and inspection systems, medical and scientific appliances due to its low quant energy, which does not cause severe effects on organisms as other radiation types with higher quant energies do. The aim of this study was the identification of protein complexes participating in the response of the archaea Halorubrum saccharovorum H3 isolated from an extreme natural environment to terahertz radiation. We developed a microfluidic system for irradiation of bacterial and archaeal cultures with terahertz radiation and performed a 5-hour-long exposure of H. saccharovorum to terahertz radiation at a wavelength of 130 μm and a power density of 0.8 Wt per cm2 for 5 h. We identified under- or overexpressed proteins in response to terahertz radiation using 2D electrophoresis with subsequent MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry. A total of 16 differentially expressed protein fractions with at least 1.5-fold changes in expression level were detected. The obtained data suggest that Halorubrum cells respond to exposure to terahertz radiation by expression changes in gene products involved in translation regulation

ПЭТ/КТ с 18F-ПСМА-1007 и 18F-фторхолином в диагностике прогрессирования рака предстательной железы. Первый сравнительный опыт

Background. Prostate cancer progression remains as a major problem among patients after their radical treatment. During last years a broad spectrum radiopharmaceuticals had developed to reveal the cause of biochemical recurrence.Objective: the comparison of 18F-fluorocholine and 18F-prostate-specific membrane antigen-1007 (18F-PSMA-1007) diagnostic abilities for the prostate cancer progression detection.Materials and methods. In this study had been included 18F-fluorocholine and 18F-PSMA-1007 PET/CT (positron emission tomography combined with computed tomography) scans of 9 patients after radical treatment with increased prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level (range 0.10–9.06 ng/ml).Results. 18F-PSMA-1007-PET/CT detected lesions in 7 (77.8 %) out of 9 patients, after radical prostatectomy and brachytherapy, in comparison with negative 18F-fluorocholine-PET/CT results in all cases.Conclusion. In this pilot study, 18F-PSMA-1007-PET/CT has showed high potential in pathological changes detection among patients with increased PSA level (minimum 0.10 ng/ml) and demonstrated the advantages in comparison with 18F-fluorocholine-PET/CT, especially in terms of revealing local recurrence and metastatic lymph nodes, as well as, in bone lesions early detection.Введение. Прогрессирование рака предстательной железы остается важной проблемой у пациентов после радикального лечения. За последние годы был разработан широкий спектр радиофармацевтических лекарственных препаратов для ПЭТ / КТ-исследований (позитронной эмиссионной томографии, совмещенной с компьютерной томографией), основная задача которых – выявление причины биохимического рецидива. Каждая группа радиоактивных трейсеров характеризуется своими особенностями, но вопрос подбора оптимального радиофармацевтического лекарственного препарата для проведения исследования остается актуальным.Цель исследования – сравнение диагностических возможностей ПЭТ / КТ с 18F-фторхолином и 18F-простатическим специфическим мембранным антигеном-1007 (18F-ПСМА-1007) в выявлении прогрессирования рака предстательной железы.Материалы и методы. В исследование включены результаты комплексных ПЭТ / КТ-исследований с 18F-фторхолином и 18F-ПСМА-1007 9 пациентов после радикального лечения рака предстательной железы с увеличением уровня простатического специфического антигена (ПСА) в сыворотке крови (в диапазоне от 0,10 до 9,06 нг / мл).Результаты. В 7 (77,8 %) из 9 наблюдений при отрицательных результатах ПЭТ / КТ с 18F-фторхолином благодаря дополнительно проведенному ПЭТ / КТ-исследованию с 18F-ПСМА-1007 удалось выявить причину роста опухолевого маркера ПСА у пациентов после радикальной простатэктомии и лучевой терапии, в том числе при уровне ПСА 0,10 нг / мл.Заключение. В данном пилотном исследовании ПЭТ / КТ с 18F-ПСМА-1007 продемонстрировала высокий уровень выявления патологических изменений при увеличении уровня ПСА в сыворотке крови (с минимальным значением 0,10 нг / мл), а также наглядно показала преимущества по сравнению с ПЭТ / КТ с 18F-фторхолином в обнаружении местного рецидива заболевания, пораженных, но не увеличенных в размере, лимфатических узлов и в ранней диагностике костных метастазов.

ПЭТ/КТ с 18F-фторэтилтирозином в диагностике лучевого некроза в височной доле головного мозга после лучевого лечения рака носоглотки (клиническое наблюдение)

Clinical case of the patient with nasopharyngeal carcinomaafter stereotactic radiosurgical treatment for the persistent disease after chemoradiotherapyare presented. The diagnostic data of PET/CTwith  18F-Fluoroethyl-Ltyrosine (18F-FET)and MRI with intravenous contrastof head and neck were included in analysis. There was  analyzeda clinical case of differential diagnosis of changes in thetemporal lobe of the brain after stereotactic radiation therapy of  nasopharyngeal carcinoma using PET/CT with 18F-FET. Identified high  diagnostic accuracy in the differential diagnosis of delayed changes in  the brain (tumor or radiation necrosis) after radiation therapy  ofnasopharyngeal carcinoma.Представлено клиническое наблюдение больного раком носоглотки после  стереотаксического радиохирургического лечения по поводу продолженного роста рака  носоглотки после химиолучевой терапии. В анализ были включены диагностические  данные, полученные после проведенных ПЭТ/КТ с 18F-фторэтилтирозином (18F-ФЭТ) и МРТ  с внутривенным контрастированием головы и шеи. Проанализирован случай дифференциальной диагностики  изменений в височной доле головного мозга после стереотаксической лучевой терапии рака  носоглотки при помощи ПЭТ/КТ с 18F-ФЭТ. Определена высокая диагностическая точность  метода в дифференциальной диагностике отсроченных изменений в головном мозге  (опухолевые или лучевой некроз) после проведенной повторной лучевой терапии рака носоглотки